BC’s hospitals will treat patients from out-of-country just like they do locals, but that doesn’t mean their costs are covered. Despite receiving a bill, those patients don’t always pay up, leaving BC taxpayers on the hook.

Around $54 million in unpaid medical bills for non-Canadians have been written off by Interior Health since 2021, according to data recently released by public policy think tank Second Street.

In 2025, more than $17 million went unpaid just in that year, marking the highest in five years. Though it’s not clear how many patients are included in that total, the health authority does attempt to recover those bills before dismissing the cost.

Interior Health filed a lawsuit against a Qatari national earlier this week, seeking to recover more than $250,000 in unpaid hospital bills.

The health authority alleges Kasi Alagappan was admitted to Kelowna General Hospital in June 2024, where he stayed for two weeks. It’s not clear why he was in hospital, but Interior Health alleges it sent numerous demands for payment to his Qatar address and hasn’t received any payments.

It’s now seeking a court order to demand repayment.

“The government should definitely be taking a look at this problem,” Second Street president Colin Craig said in a news release, adding that BC appears to be worse off than other provinces.

Non-Canadians account for millions in revenue for Interior Health, with $15 million paid in 2025, according to financial documents.

Though their bills would typically be government-funded, Canadians from other provinces nearly double that revenue for Interior Health at $29 million.

Interior Health also expects some bills to go unrecovered each year. For 2025, it planned for $35.7 million to go unpaid, which is $10.6 million more than the year before.

According to Second Street data, $200 million has been written off by BC health authorities since 2021. At $94.6 million, the vast majority was attributed to non-Canadians getting care in the Fraser Health region.

Second Street suggested health regions require non-Canadians pay upfront where possible, foreign tourists be required to have travel insurance or that non-residents with outstanding medical bills be banned from entering Canada.